A Midnight Summer Nightmare
by Theoria Synolon
Summary: A 10-year old Loki just had a nightmare, and Thor is there to comfort him. Thor & Loki brotherly fluff! R&R :


"Thor? Thor? Thor? Thor? Thor?"

The small voice barely rose above a whisper, yet its persistence combined with the silence outside made it sound loud and clear. In the darkness of the room two very bright green eyes were staring at the sleeping lump that was Thor. The young god of thunder groaned in his sleep, then changed side and started snoring again. A small hand came to rest upon Thor's shoulder, and started shaking him lightly.

"Thor? Please wake up…"

Thor slowly opened his eyes, heavy with slumber, and tried to focus on the source of the voice. Not surprised to see his brother awake, he sighed and tried to sit up as well as he could with Loki on the right side of his belly. Loki seemed to understand that his position on the bed was stalling Thor from rising, so he moved, jumped of, turned around and waited. Thor gave a loud yawn and stretched his arms until he felt the numbness of sleep recede. Went he felt ready he turned to address his brother.

"Loki, do you have any idea what time it is?"

A small candle next to the bed flickered to life, lighting up the room and Loki's face. Thor was surprised to see the anxiety that had settled over Loki's features, his green eyes not focusing anywhere and looking towards all the dark corners of the room. Thor propped himself up using his elbows and glanced around, trying to find a possible threat, or anything at all that could be the cause of his brothers distress. Seeing nothing, he turned towards Loki once again.

"Why art thou upset, brother?"

Finally Loki's eyes stopped moving and focused on Thor. A light blush tinted his cheeks then, and almost immediately he looked away. After what seemed like hours, Loki said:

"Is it true?"

"What is?"

"What Tyr said."

"What did he say?"

Loki paused, trying to find the proper way to put his thoughts into words without seeming weak or embarrassing himself in front of his brother. Thor patiently waited for Loki to form his sentence, lighting up a few more candles in the process. As the shadows in the room diminished, Loki found it easier to think. When at last he found his words to be satisfactory, he said:

"Tyr said that there where portals that the Frost Giants use to move between realms. He said that some of them pop up in places they have never been before, but some just exist." Here Loki looked uncertain. "He said he saw a portal just beneath my bed. Is it true?"

Thor considered his brother for a minute, and then he let out a booming laugh. Loki's blush became darker, and he looked away again. Thor reached out, drawing his brother closer. He gently cupped Loki's chin and left cheek and said humorously:

"No brother. None of this is true. First off, if the Frost Giants could use portals such as these, they would have invaded Asgard eons ago. Plus, I'm quite sure your room would be the last one they would choose to transport themselves to, since it's so far away from the weapon storage room and so close to mine and our father's room."

A gentle "oh" escaped Loki's lips and he stood up. He started moving towards the door, leaving Thor behind, scratching his head, wondering if he had said the right thing. Loki had almost reached the door, and Thor was ready to blow the candles and fall back to sleep, when suddenly Loki turned around and asked:

"May I sleep here tonight?"

Thor raised a questioning eyebrow, not sure how to answer such a request.

"Please?"

Loki's face made the decision for Thor. He looked so small and frightened, an image that Thor was not used to when it came to his brother, even though Loki was still just a child. He scooched over, making some space next to him for his brother. Still Loki didn't approach until Thor nodded for him to come. When they were both under the sheets and the lights were out, Thor hugged his brother from behind, an enormous hand circling the small child with the palm resting on his belly. After a while, not even knowing if Thor was awake, Loki confessed:

"I saw a nightmare." and he continued "The Jotuns were here and they wanted to take me away. They said I was theirs, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop them."

"I'll keep them away, little one. Do not fret brother, I shall never allow them to harm you."

Loki hugged with both his hands the hand that was holding him in place, his small heart filled with a gratitude only a child can have towards his protector. There were no more nightmares that night.


End file.
